Sopa de lentejas

Colombia's soul-warming lentil soup: built on a hogao sofrito of tomato and spring onion, rich with cumin and served over rice

Origin: Colombia

From the journey of Lentils.

Spanish colonists brought lentils to South America in the 16th and 17th centuries, and they were adopted rapidly into Andean and Caribbean coastal cooking. Colombia's sopa de lentejas is a household staple across the entire country: a thick, nourishing soup built on the distinctly Colombian hogao, a sofrito of tomatoes, spring onion (cebolla larga), garlic, and cumin that forms the aromatic base of much of Colombian cuisine. Unlike the European versions, Colombian lentil soup is often ladled over white rice in the bowl, a habit reflecting the South American tendency to serve rice with almost everything. It is the lunch of the Colombian home, cooked by grandmothers and served as an act of care.

Ingredients

Base

400 g orange or red lentils, rinsed
1.5 litres water or vegetable stock
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 medium carrot, diced

Hogao

3 ripe tomatoes, finely diced
4 stalks cebolla larga (spring onion), finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
0.5 tsp ground turmeric (color)

For cooking

3 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

Seasoning

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

Finish

1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

To serve

4 cups cooked white rice, to serve

Method

Make the hogao: heat the oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the spring onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, cumin, and turmeric. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes until the tomatoes break down into a thick, fragrant sofrito.
Add the lentils, potato, carrot, and stock or water. Stir well. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a steady simmer. Cook for 30–35 minutes until the lentils are completely soft. The potato and carrot should be very tender.
Use the back of a spoon to mash some of the lentils and potato against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. It should be thick and hearty but still a soup.
Stir in the fresh coriander. Season generously with salt. Taste and adjust cumin if needed.
To serve in the Colombian style: place a scoop of cooked white rice in the centre of a deep bowl. Ladle the hot lentil soup around it. The rice absorbs the broth as you eat.

Notes

Cebolla larga, the long, thin spring onions used across Colombian cooking, have a milder, sweeter flavour than European spring onions and are worth seeking out at Latin grocery stores. Regular spring onions are a fine substitute. In the Andean interior, sopa de lentejas is often enriched with a piece of pork ribs or chorizo; the coastal version tends to stay vegetarian.

The Gastrographer

Name: Sopa de lentejas
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Colombia
Ingredients: 400 g orange or red lentils, rinsed; 1.5 litres water or vegetable stock; 1 medium potato, peeled and diced; 1 medium carrot, diced; 3 ripe tomatoes, finely diced; 4 stalks cebolla larga (spring onion), finely sliced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tsp ground cumin; 0.5 tsp ground turmeric (color); 3 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil; 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste; 1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped; 4 cups cooked white rice, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control